I found the following post in an IMDB thread for The Goonies:
"The Goonies is one of my favorite movies. I can only dream about doing half as many things as these kids do in this movie. I love the outdoors, I love being on my bike, I love exploring, and I love hanging out with my friends. And most of all, I love a great adventure. It's unfortunate for my generation that we can't do anything independently without our parents worrying or checking up on us every 5 minutes. I can't tell you what I would give to be able to have a childhood as fun as you guys had. The closest thing I have to getting out is going to the mall five minutes away and walking around, wrecking (mild) havoc.
My parents freak out if I tell them that my friends and I missed the first showing of a movie and we have to wait an extra half hour until the next. They don't allow me to stay home alone. Hell, I'm not even allowed to walk our dog around the block by myself.
Kids can't do anything anymore. We are practically inclined to sit on the couch, playing with our games or laptops or phones all day. If we have homework, which we always have a TON of, that is the first priority. You can forget being able to catch a movie with friends on a school night. Where I live, if you are under 18, you are not allowed to be out past 9:30 doing anything. They won't sell you a movie ticket past 7:30. Most parks will kick you out right before dark. If cops see you on the street and think you are underage, they take you down to the station and get your parents to pick you up.
Kids are bombarded with stories about kidnappings and murders of other adolescents. We are warned about the risks of going out without adult supervision. Gang violence is everywhere, and creeps are never far off. It isn't really hard for me to see why parents are so worrisome all the time. The stories we are told are meant to strike fear into our hearts.
Life is boring. That's why the Goonies will always be one of my favorite movies. It's fun. It is the childhood that I will never, ever be able to have. You guys had it made in the 80's." ----------------------------------------
I realize that kids of a recent vintage have micromanagement-style parents who overprotect them, but I always believed that these kids were none the wiser about how their lives are regulated. However, when they see 1980s adventure movies, they realize that they are missing out on playing outside and it came as a surprise to me that any kid today would hold the '80s in high esteem, but then I take that decade for granted, having grown up in that time.
I know exactly what you mean about the desire for some independence at a young age. When I was very young growing up in San Jose, my friends and I could stay out pretty late (midnight) on a Friday or Saturday night completely unsupervised (not too far from home anyway). Because of societal violence, you wouldn't even think of doing that with your children now. You may even get arrested for not supervising your children. Would you let your eight year old kids go trick-or-treating by themselves today? We could back then. THE GOONIES was indeed a fun reminder of the care-free days of my childhood. I do regret that today's youth won't have the opportunity to experience the fun of being out on your own, even if only for a brief amount of time.
IJATTOD - What time did you live in San Jose? I was raised in Sunnyvale and lived there from 1978-1998/99.
It probably depends on the area and the parents. I know here on this street, I see kids going for hours outside without any supervision. I can also remember my days walking several or more blocks with a friend to the local comic shop, riding my bike to friends' houses, or spending hours at the mall across the street, browsing stores and playing in the arcade.
I'm part '70s kid and part '80s kid (age 1-9 in the '70s, age 10-19 in the '80s), and when I look around, I see exactly what that young fella described. I'm saddened by the way kids are being raised today. People are getting dumber, less connected to human activity, almost constantly living in alternate video universes, and many of them are and will be unable to take care of themselves and communicate as a functional adult. It's nice to see a kid of today saying and seeing what people of my and Jim's age group are saying and/or seeing. It indicates that there are still gems of awareness and intelligence amongst our youth.
Remember when 80's family adventure movies like The Goonies and E.T. had actual DANGER and swearing and stuff? Nowadays you can barely get away with the occasional "Damn" in a PG-rated movie.
Today's kids are pussies, and their parents aren't helping. Yeah, you shouldn't let your 12-year-old watch Scarface, but hearing the occasional swear word won't turn your kids into sociopaths. Long gone are the days when you could have a Spielberg tot yell, "It was nothing like that, PENIS-BREATH!!!"
Curiously, there is no such "trend" in Norway. Must be a USA thing.
What I DO see, however, is a very hands-on approach in the kid's early years. Baby-calls, constant supervision, total abstinence of anything when you're pregnant and so on. That's quite different from when my mom brought ME up.
But beyond that, when the kid is coming of age, I see all kinds of different upbringings. As GoldsmithFan says, it depends very much on where you live or what your parents are like.
I don't know if I agree completely with the IMDB post but there is something to it. I was born in '81 and I remember riding on my bike through the woods listening to Don Henley or Steve Winwood and finding adventures, for lack of a better word. Nothing like the Goonies but not too far from The Sandlot or even The Adventures Of Pete And Pete.
Theres something I've never been able to put my finger on about growing up in suburbia. Spielberg kind of got it and so did The Goonies, but its a little less manic and a little more ... well, I don't know how to quantify it. "Personal epic"? In that what happens is small and private (first kiss, etc) but at the same time is one of the great things in life everyone can understand. Does that make sense? I think that kind of stuff doesn't really exist anymore - not only because of "helicopter parents" but also because of the times we live in.
Christ, now I sound like that old guy in the Kick The Can segment of the Twilight Zone movie.
IJATTOD - What time did you live in San Jose? I was raised in Sunnyvale and lived there from 1978-1998/99.
I lived in San Jose from 1972-1980. Our house was on Greenpark Way only a couple of blocks from the Capitol Drive-In. I would often go the Century 21 theater to see movies. My father drove every day to San Francisco when he was in the Navy. He retired in 1974 after 30 years of service and we continued to live there for another 6 years. I have sisters who live in San Jose and Los Gatos.
Funny thing is, I never warmed to the movie. My childhood friends--with whom I went on our own sort of Goonies adventures--loved it and thought the world of "Chunk", but I was hoping that the movie would've focused more on their friendship instead of bringing the big brother and those girls along. I'd have to wait for Stand By Me for that story...Still, I watch The Goonies with a degree of interest and some nostalgia, but I feel the movie was a missed opportunity, at least with the characters.
When I was 4 years old I was allowed to roam in the woods for miles, the only limiting factor was being home in time for dinner. My entire childhood was like that and I am eternally grateful. Goonies does capture some of that freedom, but then there are lots of other comporable movies and TV shows from that era (any episode of Lassie will do). Years ago I noticed how our neighbors keep their kids in our cul-de-sac even though there is a perfectly good park (surrounded by houses) just 1/8 mile away.
I always had freedom and elbow room, but even now as an adult I wouldn't be quite so free and easy in some of the back country I used to take for granted. That is one of the reasons we are leaving the states... for a place that more resembles the land of my youth with respect to freedom, safety, + easy access to peace & quiet.
It seems like this trend in child rearing began in the mid or late '80s? In the Woody Allen movie Alice, a character mentions how their kids have a "play date"! I seem to recall the younger siblings of kids I knew having gone through early regimentation with day care/pre-school, etc. It's something that's been going on for decades now, I guess. I'll bet many of the younger FSM posters have experienced this very thing.
I live near a school with a large yard and football field and during the holidays you'll see kids hang out there or play some soccer. But only during the holidays. I do a lot of jogs between villages and in the forest/field parts I rarely see any kids biking or playing outside anymore. The only time I see any kids playing it's usually behind a fence in their yard supervised by their parents.
I did love biking around when I was a kid and just 'explore' the region, but nowadays with increased traffic and 'horror stories', it seems kids aren't allowed to do much. Mind you, when I was a teenager we also had (super) nintendo, those first pentium pc's, etc... and we'd stay indoors as well. But when it's great weather outside, sitting inside can be a drag.
I think it is a cultural thing, but the trend seems to be to keep kids inside. Belgium has had a couple of severe child abduction cases that even went as far as have consequences in our political landscape and had a lasting impact on our society. It's comparable to the aftermath of the recent Japanese nuclear disaster, with such a danger in society's conscience, suddenly the way of the past isn't considered safe anymore and people change their views. Of course such a reasoning is often fueled by fear and incomprehension and in reality you end up giving up more freedoms to get a false sense of 'security' in exchange.
I think this is one of the factors, but suffice to say that if Goonies would be filmed today, sloth would be put away in a mental facility for shock treatment and the kids would get sent off for counseling and psychiatry after undergoing such an ordeal
P.S. Stand by Me is a good example of childhood, but I also liked the interplay in "It", that also portrays a genuine feeling of what it was like to play outside with friends. And most of the kids survived
Unfortunately, the "child abduction" meme has grown completely out of control. Yes, there are perverts and kidnappers, but the "don't talk to strangers" safety campaign led to a popular public misunderstanding that child danger is mostly due to strangers, and that the way to protect children is to keep them away from "strangers," when the sad truth is that abduction by random strangers is rare and that children are, statistically, in far more danger from family, teachers, guardians and other people who know them than from random outsiders. So we box kids up, afraid to let them play in their neighborhoods, which does nothing to combat family abuse and probably adds to problems that arise of neglect.
During our walks around the neighborhood, my wife and I see a fair amount of sidewalk graffiti. It's usually "Mary Loves John"-type stuff, or the odd peace symbol, but some of the stuff actually includes the year. In this case it's 1972 and '73. I can imagine kids running around playing back then. It's a far cry going through it now as there's rarely a child to be seen. They must be inside gettin' obese while playing video games or preparing their résumés so they can get into one of the better middle schools.
Kids shouldn't be out after 9pm. I don't care what decade we're in. Under 15 home before dark. Sounds like some whiny brat who's upset because they have to do their homework. Give those parents a medal!
